‘The 355’ Scribe Theresa Rebeck To Write ‘The Faithful’ For Concordia Studio

EXCLUSIVE: Two-time Emmy-nominated writer Theresa Rebeck is set to pen The Faithful for Concordia Studio, based on the true story of how a fight over land between St. Stanislaus Church and the St. Louis archdiocese became a battle to define the future of Catholicism. The story is based on the life of Father Marek Bozek.

Concordia’s Jonathan King (Spotlight, Roma) and Patrick Callan are set as producers. Dan O’Brien is also producing.

The WGA- and Peabody-winning Rebeck co-wrote femme spy ensemble The 355 with Simon Kinberg which recently hit theaters via Universal. The movie, also directed by Kinberg, stars Jessica Chastain, Diane Kruger, Lupita Nyong’o, Penélope Cruz and Bingbing Fan.

Additionally, Rebeck wrote and directed the 2018 film Trouble, starring Angelica Huston and Bill Pullman. She also created the NBC musical series Smash, which earned four Emmy nominations in its first season. Rebeck has won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, a Peabody Award, and a Writers Guild Award for Drama for her work on ABC’s NYPD Blue; that series also notched two Outstanding Drama Series Emmy noms for her.

In the theater space, Rebeck’s fourth Broadway play, Bernhardt/Hamlet, premiered as part of the Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2018-19 season, making her the most Broadway-produced female playwright of our time. She recently won an Outer Critic’s Circle Award for Seared and is the recipient of the William Inge New Voices Playwriting Award, the PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Award, a Lilly Award, and more. Rebeck is repped by ICM Partners.

Concordia Studio is an independent film and TV company founded by filmmakers King and Davis Guggenheim, in partnership with Laurene Powell Jobs and Emerson Collective, an organization Jobs founded to focus on issues from education, immigration reform and the environment to media, journalism and health.

Concordia’s first scripted feature film is Oscar-winner Ben Cleary’s Swan Song, starring Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Glenn Close and Awkwafina, now streaming on Apple TV+.

The studio’s nonfiction slate includes the 2021 Sundance U.S. Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award winner Summer of Soul (…or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) as well as the Osacr-nominated Time, and Apple TV+’s Emmy-winning Boys State.

Bozek and O’Brien are repped by Buchwald, with the latter also being repped by Authentic.

O’Brien, best known as a series regular actor on NBC’s multi-cam comedy Whitney, brought the story to Concordia in 2020 and is also producing.